Key Findings
The following section details the key findings from the National
Policing Survey. Analysis was conducted at both the national and state
levels. Readers can explore detailed subnational results using the
interactive features contained in this report.
Trends in Crime
Overall, the most common crime was assault (75%), closely followed by
theft/stealing (74%), burglary (38%), obtaining by false pretense (37%)
and rape (32%). These top 5 common crime cut across almost all the
states but some additional crimes are prevalent in some states. For
instance:
There were however significant variations across states. Kidnapping
was among top 5 experienced crime in Anambra (36%), Delta (36%), Enugu
(44%), Kogi (51%), Kaduna (32%), Nasarawa(44%), Kebbi (39%), Ondo (22%),
Taraba (50%) and Zamfara (86%). Banditry was the highest crime
experienced in Zamfara (86%) and among top 5 common crime experienced in
Katsina (46%), Sokoto (46%) and Taraba (35%). Vandalisation was among
top 5 in Imo (45%), so also cultism in Bayelsa (50%), Benue (59%), Cross
river (36%), Ogun (41%) and Osun (39%). Homicide is common in Gombe
(41%), Jigawa (48%), Niger (42%), Taraba (55%) and Yobe (66%).
Defilement was commonly experienced in Ekiti (39%), Borno (22%), Lagos
(42%), Rivers (46%) and Zamfara (58%). Armed robbery in Adamawa (42%),
Bauchi (40%), Nasarawa (41%), Plateau (44%), Yobe (32%) and Zamfara
(58%). Murder in Abia (34%), Aiding and abating in Kwara (19%), Niger
(48%), Oyo (43%), Katsina (45%) and Sokoto (45%)
National Overview
Most Common Types of Crime Reported
Seasonal Crime Rates
Results indicate that crime rates are highest in December with 73% of
respondents indicating that it was the month with highest occurance of
criminality and lowest in July (~22%). In general, crime rates start to
increase towards the last quarter of year and are relatively lower
during the rainy season. However there are some state level variations
with Katsina (61%), Sokoto (57%) and Zamfara (71%) experiencing higher
crime rates in August.
Change in Crime Rates
Overall, 56% of the divisions interviewed reported a decrease in
crime rates in their respective AOC, while 39% reported an increase and
5% did not observe any changes in crime rate for the past 12 months.
Disaggregation by state however shows that crime rate are reported to
have increased in Adamawa(52%), Cross River(50%), Imo(54%) and
Zamfara(54%).
Main Challenges
Most significant challenge faced by police was insufficient number of
personnel (78%), closely followed by lack of vehicles/equipment (76%),
insufficient support for medical needs (62%), inadequate training (54%),
insufficient support for mental wellbeing (51%), unsatisfactory
communication flow (50%) and lack of proper guidelines (31%).
Insufficient number of personnel and lack of vehicles/equipment are top
2 challenges across all the states but in addition to that Insufficient
support for mental wellbeing is prevalent in Taraba state.
National Overview
Main Challenges Reported
Operational Challenges
Access to Equipment and Health Services
It was observed only one quarter of the divisions have access to
specialized equipment for fighting crime, 24% have access to paid
medical care and few (14%) have access to mental health support. Six in
ten divisions have access to medical facilities of which 69% are public
and 75% are outside the division premises. Lack of access to specialized
equipment for fighting crime cut across all the states, only FCT have
53% of police divisions with access to specialized equipment for
fighting crime. None of the selected divisions in Taraba state have
access to specialized equipment for fighting crime. So also access to
paid medical care and mental health support was low across the states
and FCT. Despite that 61% of police divisions have access to medical
facilities at national level, Anambra (43%), Oyo (47%) and Zamfara (47%)
have less than half of their police divisions with access to medical
facilities.
Access to Specialised Equipment
Access to Paid Medical Care
Access to Mental Health Support
Police Misconduct
More than half (57%) of the divisions did not maintain a record of
police misconduct cases. This led to a high non-response rate (73%) to
know whether misconduct cases have increased or not over time. The
maintenance rate was worse in Yobe (86%), Osun (79%) and Taraba state
(77%).
Types of Police Misconduct
Analysis of police misconduct patterns reveals that Unprofessional
Conduct emerged as the predominant category, accounting for 39% of all
reported cases across divisions. Within this classification, the most
frequently documented subcategories were Public Interaction issues at
18.3%, which encompasses problematic encounters between officers and
community members, Personal Conduct violations at 10.9%, relating to
officers’ behavior both on and off duty, and Disciplinary Issues at
9.5%, involving violations of departmental protocols and standards. This
distribution suggests that the majority of misconduct cases stem from
behavioral and interpersonal challenges rather than procedural or
technical violations. The significant percentage of public interaction
issues, in particular, highlights the need for enhanced training in
community engagement and professional communication. Cases of Abuse of
Power (19.3%) was the second highest category of police misconduct
followed by cases involving Corruption (15.4%)
Human Rights and SGBV
Slightly more than half, 52% of selected divisions have unit handling
human rights violations and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV). Of
which majority (91%) of the unit have contributed to a decrease in
incidents, improved community relations and enhanced officer training
and awareness. Measures taken to promote and protect human rights in
policing practices are continuous training (29%), uphold human right in
policing (37%) and partnership with community (9%) while 21% of the
divisions were not taken any measure to promote and protect human rights
in policing.
The top 3 commands with a high presence of unit handling human rights
violations and SGBV are FCT (80%), Taraba (75%) and Imo (73%). While the
least 3 commands are Kebbi (17%), Zamfara (21%) and Kogi state
(24%).
Presence of Human Rights and/or SGBV
Unit in Division
Effectiveness of Human Rights and/or
SGBV Unit